Featured: Approximately 5,000 teachers and staff attended the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District’s General Assembly on Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at the McAllen Convention Center. The school district is the largest employer in the city and in Hidalgo County. Ellie M. Torres, Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Directors for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, serves on the Board of Trustees for the Edinburg school district.

Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

For the second time this year, Edinburg registered the lowest unemployment rate among Valley cities, coming in at 5.5 percent for July 2016, tied with McAllen, according to statewide figures posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 by the Texas Workforce Commission. Edinburg’s 5.5 percent figure also represents the best showing for that month in the city since July 2008 (5.4 percent), the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. Edinburg and McAllen, with their respective 5.5 percent monthly unemployment rates, along with Harlingen (5.9 percent), were the only three cities in deep South Texas to post figures for July 2016 under six percent, the Texas Workforce Commission also found. In addition, the Texas Workforce Commission reported that there were 35,655 people employed in Edinburg during the month of July 2016. That performance represents an increase of 567 jobs in Edinburg when comparing the employment figures for July 2016 (35,655) and July 2015 (35,088). The state’s unemployment rate in July 2016 was 5.1 percent, compared with 4.8 percent during the same month in 2015.

Featured, from left: McAllen Mayor Jim Darling; Edinburg Mayor Richard García; Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernández, M.D.; and University of Texas System Chancellor William H. McRaven on Thursday, August 11, 2016 at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance. The leaders participated in a panel discussion about the UT Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, which has a major component in Edinburg. The Edinburg Mayor, Edinburg City Council, and Edinburg Economic Development Corporation played key roles in 2013 in securing a full-fledged medical school from the Texas Legislature for deep South Texas. In July 2016, the first class of medical students began their education at the $54 million Medical Education Building, which is located on the UTRGV campus in Edinburg.

Photograph By DAVID PIKE

Construction and related building activities in Edinburg from January through July 2016 have passed the $152 million level, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has reported, with the month of July 2016 accounting for almost $21 million of that amount. The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez, Jr. as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. Combined, building permits from January through July 2016 were issued for work valued at $152,426,011 compared with $78,554,684 for the same seven months in 2015. During July 2016, building permits for work valued at $20,681,153 were issued by the city, compared with $13,330,130 in July 2015. The top construction projects in Edinburg for July 2016, not including the value of the land, are: $9,430,920 – Wisconsin Street Housing LP, 2132 E. Wisconsin Rd., John Closner Subdivision; $2,800,000 – Edinburg Village Apartments, 701 S. 4th Avenue, Maverick Subdivision; $960,000 – Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, 1202 N. Monmack Rd., Tex-Mex Subdivision; and $379,259 – South Texas Independent School District, 510 S. Sugar Rd., Tex-Mex Subdivision.

Featured, from left: Harvey Rodríguez, Jr., Vice-President, Board of Directors, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Ellie M. Torres, Secretary/Treasurer, Board of Directors, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; and Agustín García, Jr., Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. This image was taken on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at Edinburg City Hall, following an EEDC Board of Directors meeting.

Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

Construction and related building activities in Edinburg totaled more than $9.2 million for February 2016, bringing the total value of construction activities in the city to almost $45.5 million during the first two months of the year, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. Combined, building permits in January and February 2016 were issued for work valued at $45,462,422, compared with $29,478,831 for the same two months in 2015.

Featured: Ellie M. Torres, Secretary/Treasurer for the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, Francisco Cigarroa, M.D., then-Chancellor of the University of Texas System, and Mayor Richard García, on Tuesday, August 26, 2014, during groundbreaking ceremonies for the $54 million University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Medical Academic Building in Edinburg, the first new construction for the UTRGV School of Medicine.

Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

Edinburg’s unemployment rate for February 2016 of 4.5 percent is the best showing of any month for the city since February 2008, and this latest figure continues to keep pace with McAllen’s Valley-leading monthly unemployment rate, which came in at 4.4 percent for February 2016, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. Also according to the latest data, which was released on Friday, March 25, 2016 by the Texas Workforce Commission, there were 36,204 people employed in Edinburg during the month of February 2016. The data represents an increase of 753 jobs in Edinburg when comparing the employment figures for February 2016 and February 2015. In February 2016, there were 36,204 employed in Edinburg, while 35,451 were employed in Edinburg in February 2015.

Featured: Letty Reyes, Director of Business Development & Public Affairs, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Dalila Razo, Business Manager, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Nelda Ramírez, Assistant Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos; Agustín García, Jr., Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; and Diego Reyna, Research Analyst, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. This image was taken at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance on Thursday, January 21, 2016, during the public affairs luncheon sponsored by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce and the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation.

Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

Construction and related building activities in Edinburg totaled more than $36 million for January 2016, almost five times higher than the same month in 2015, with the 9,400-seat stadium that will be home to the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros professional soccer team coming in as the most valuable project, after it was issued a building permit for work priced at $16.8 million, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The soccer stadium, which still has not been given a name, is being built on a 37-acre site, according to the city’s Code Enforcement Department, which issues all building permits. The second-most significant construction project approved for a building permit in January 2016 was a 168-unit multi-family housing complex, worth more than $9.7 million, located at 4604 South Sugar Road, next to the Edinburg Regional Medical Center/Edinburg Children’s Hospital. Located on a 9.77 acre site, this multi-family housing development, a project of Greenpoint Developers, LLC, is the latest addition to a growing and modern residential region that now includes The Villages at Sugar Road, the Bridges at Edinburg, which is an assisted living community, and the residential Summerset Estates and Summerfield Manor. Kamaldeep Gill was issued a building permit by the city in January 2016 valued at $2.1 million for a 50-room MainStay Suites, an extended stay hotel, to be located on a 10-acre site next to the Comfort Inn. Both hotels, which are part of Choice Hotels International, are immediately west of The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley. The address for both the Comfort Inn and the MainStay Suites is 4001 S. Business Highway 281 in the Comfort Subdivision. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. In general, a building permit is legal permission given by the City of Edinburg to erect, construct, renovate, maintain, or conduct any other specified activity on any building or structure, or on any installations or facilities therein. The term “building permit” includes but is not limited to building permits, electrical permits, mechanical permits, and plumbing permits. During January 2016, building permits for work valued at $36,212,106 were issued by the city, compared with $7,279,701 in January 2015. The top categories in Edinburg during January 2016 were: $19,240,000 – Commercial New Construction; $9,994,464 – Multi-Family Residences New Construction; $5,885,185 – Single-Family Residences New Construction; $935,200 – Commercial Alterations; $140,075 – Residential Alterations; and $17,000 – Non-Taxable New/Alterations (government, religious, but not including the value of construction activities at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley or its School of Medicine). Also according to the city’s Code Enforcement Department, 45 single-family residences were approved for construction in January 2016, compared with 13 single-family residences during the same month in 2015. For the month of January 2016, building permits were issued for 27 additions/remodels of single-family residences, compared with 50 in January 2015. Multi-family residences – which range from two-unit duplexes to complexes of five or more units – totaled 176 units approved for construction in January 2016, compared with 20 units in January 2015. On Wednesday, July 15, 2015, plans for the soccer stadium now under construction were first unveiled with the announcement that the United Soccer League (USL) awarded its 25th franchise to Alonzo Cantú, owner of the NBA Development League Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The club, known as RGVFC Toros, will serve as the hybrid affiliate of the Houston Dynamo. RGVFC is slated to kick off later this spring. The soccer stadium, which is modeled after the Houston Dynamo’s BBVA Compass Stadium, is located at the intersection of East Freddy González Drive and South Raúl Longoria Road. “The USL is proud and excited to welcome RGVFC to our league,” USL CEO Alec Papadakis said during last summer’s announcement. “We have great confidence in Alonzo Cantú, who has a proven track record in business and professional sports in the Rio Grande Valley. This vibrant economic market with a population of 1.3 million enjoys a long tradition in soccer. RGVFC is a first-class sports organization that will treat the passionate south Texas soccer fans to a state-of-the-art 9,400-seat soccer-specific stadium which surely will become a source of pride for the region.”